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Lawmakers who never bothered to complete the phase-in of Ohio's Fair School Funding Plan, or update data that could have helped more equitably fund the state's public schools, are now also operating with the knowledge that their beloved EdChoice voucher program has been deemed unconstitutional by an appellate court.
(Interim state Attorney General Andy Wilson has already said he plans to appeal that ruling to the 6-1 Republican majority Ohio Supreme Court.)
If their consciences weren't already being prodded by the knowledge that they abandoned fair school funding, and that an appellate court says EdChoice violates the state constitution, another report MUST make them think a little harder about how they are spending OUR money.
Ohio's Department of Education and Workforce says the total amount spent on the state's five private school voucher programs for the 2026 fiscal year was a mind-blowing $1.173 billion, according to a report by the Ohio Capital journal. That spending includes the Autism Scholarship program, Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship program, Cleveland Scholarship, and the Education Choice Scholarship and Education Choice Expansion programs.
Nearly half of the total ($532.8 million) funds the EdChoice Expansion vouchers alone.
"I think our policymakers ... diverting more than $1.1 billion a year, maybe $1.2 (billion) to private schools probably isn't the best decision because of the fact ... that these are public tax dollars going to largely unaccountable private schools, and that's a concern when that happens," Ohio Education Association President Jeff Wensing told the Capital Journal.
"Concern" is an understatement.
Buckeye State lawmakers owe it to taxpayers to be good stewards of our money, to follow our constitution and to fairly fund public schools. They can start by reining in EdChoice and putting in place guardrails that make it less a threat to public schools and a violation of the state constitution.